OpenAI’s Sam Altman searching for $7 trillion to resolve the worldwide chip scarcity subject

Tech entrepreneur Sam Altman is reportedly trying to elevate between $5 trillion and $7 trillion to assist fund the manufacturing of microchips to extend availability for AI and machine studying, the Wall Avenue Journal reported on Feb. 8.

The funding can be used to ascertain factories or fund current chip manufacturing corporations, with OpenAI solely appearing as a “vital buyer.” The hassle doesn’t purpose to boost cash for Altman’s OpenAI, finest identified for its ChatGPT chatbot and GPT massive language fashions (LLMs).

Sources advised the newspaper that the fundraising may largely be funded by debt and will take a number of years to finish.

Potential buyers

To finance the undertaking, Altman reportedly seeks investments from a largely unknown checklist of buyers.

Altman has reportedly mentioned the enterprise with SoftBank, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSMC), and Microsoft, although it’s unclear whether or not these corporations may take part as buyers or in one other function. Moreover, sources mentioned the UAE has been a part of the talks and will turn out to be a possible investor.

Altman has reportedly met with US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo to debate the matter, as the federal government should approve such a enterprise. Nonetheless, there are considerations that the involvement of the UAE might be a possible roadblock.

The Journal famous that US lawmakers previously urged the Division of Commerce to research Abu Dhabi-based AI agency G42 in January. OpenAI partnered with G42 in October 2023.

Addressing the chip scarcity

The Journal’s report famous that Altman’s fundraising plans “face vital obstacles” and “in the end won’t succeed” because the multi-trillion greenback aim is “outlandishly massive.”

In keeping with the newspaper, Altman’s efforts may nonetheless deal with the extensively acknowledged subject of chip shortages. Nonetheless, the report famous that his funding aim is bigger than most nationwide money owed and sovereign wealth funds — additionally it is value greater than all the chip trade as of the tip of 2023.

International chip gross sales are value $527 billion yearly and are projected to succeed in $1 trillion by 2030 on the earliest. In the meantime, gross sales of semiconductor manufacturing tools account for an additional $100 billion yearly.

OpenAI has been vocal in regards to the shortages and mentioned in October that it’s contemplating manufacturing its personal chips in-house to resolve the difficulty. Stories from January recommended that these efforts may see OpenAI elevating $100 billion.

It’s unclear whether or not these plans overlap with the trillion-dollar fundraising initiative reported by the Journal. Different companies have additionally began designing their very own chips, together with Meta, Microsoft, Google, and Amazon, albeit with third-party companies dealing with the manufacturing.